Well funneled nuclear structure landscape: renormalization

A complete characterization of the structure of nuclei can be obtained by combining information arising from inelastic scattering, Coulomb excitation and $\gamma-$decay, together with one- and two-particle transfer reactions. In this way it is possible to probe the single-particle and collective components of the nuclear many-body wavefunction resulting from their mutual coupling and diagonalising the low-energy Hamiltonian. We address the question of how accurately such a description can account for experimental observations. It is concluded that renormalizing empirically and on equal footing bare single-particle and collective motion in terms of self-energy (mass) and vertex corrections (…

Discovery of an Exceptionally Strong β -Decay Transition of $^{20}$F and Implications for the Fate of Intermediate-Mass Stars

A significant fraction of stars between 7-11 solar masses are thought to become supernovae, but the explosion mechanism is unclear. The answer depends critically on the rate of electron capture on $^{20}$Ne in the degenerate oxygen-neon stellar core. However, due to the unknown strength of the transition between the ground states of $^{20}$Ne and $^{20}$F, it has not previously been possible to fully constrain the rate. By measuring the transition, we have established that its strength is exceptionally large and enhances the capture rate by several orders of magnitude. This has a decisive impact on the evolution of the core, increasing the likelihood that the star is (partially) disrupted b…

Discovery of an Exceptionally Strong β -Decay Transition of F 20 and Implications for the Fate of Intermediate-Mass Stars